Abandoned
by TheExperimenter10
Summary: Another one-shot about my OC-Aliena-who finds herself waking up in an abandoned warehouse. She sets off in search of other rebels who may find a use for her but finds herself on the run from a band of Snatchers. She can't seem to shake them, no matter where she goes. T to be safe.


**Hello again! So this is another one-shot about my OC Aliena who I wrote another one-shot for previously. I was given a prompt to write about a character waking up in a warehouse, and further wanted to write a short, quick-paced piece. Hope you like it! Please review to let me know what you thought!**

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She would never get used to the smell. The smell of rotting wood and rusting metal. It overwhelmed her senses, making sleep an impossible mission. Slowly opening her eyes, she stared at the ceiling, or what was left of it. The sun started peeking through the cracks in the roof, making her blink rapidly. Aliena groaned loudly when she stretched out her body and sat up.

The warehouse was empty, and eerily silent, save for the sounds of mice squeaking as they scurried across the dirt. It wasn't much in the way of shelter, but it did just fine for now. When she'd left her home only days previously, she wasn't given a whole lot of options for places to go. After she'd been branded as a traitor to her family, she was kicked out of her home and sent to fend for herself.

Aliena considered going to Malfoy Manor, but knew she'd be far less than welcome by Draco's family. No doubt they had been told of her betrayal, and that left her out of options. Once her family had sided with the dark lord and left Ali to her own devices, she took off. She had been on the run for over a month now, maybe two if she was correct and while it wasn't terrible, it was awfully lonely.

She didn't quite know where it was she was going, only that she wanted to find more people who were fighting against Voldemort and his followers. Slytherin or not, hell, pure-blood or not, Aliena believed that what Voldemort was doing was wrong. So wrong. And she refused to stand by watching as he destroyed the lives of other witches and wizards. It was an easy call to search for others like her, but it was difficult in that there were very few out in the open.

She had had a few run ins with Snatchers already, when she'd been caught asking around for anyone with knowledge about Potter and his friends. Luckily she had gotten away, whether by skill or pure luck. But she couldn't stay in one place for long without more coming her way.

The warehouse had been her safehouse for two days already, and as she rolled out of the makeshift bed she'd made, she knew it was time to leave.

Gathering her things, Aliena left the storage house and headed out across the empty streets that were nearby. It was an abandoned town, or so she hoped and it was close to a forest. A forest was a good place to start in terms of hiding. She could make use of the trees and her love of climbing to hide away if she could, and from there, continue her search for rebels.

As she wandered the narrow paths that intertwined through the bushes and trees, she found her hand constantly checking a pocket on the inside of her coat. Each time she lifted her arm, her fingers grazed the parchment that was folded just inside. It was a letter, a crumpled one from a month ago...written by Draco.

How it had found her, Ali didn't know. A miracle maybe, that the owl sought her out. Yet she kept it with her at all times as a sort of reassurance or a purpose to keep going. He'd written to tell her he had heard what happened with her family, told her that she was being stupid and reckless and she should have kept her mouth shut.

After paragraphs of how stupid she was being, he'd told her that despite it all he was proud of her for sticking to her beliefs and that he loved her still. That alone was enough to keep Aliena going. It was strange for her to see his hand writing on the page, telling her that he loved her and still cared for her. He wasn't the lovey-dovey type, nor was she. But perhaps in these dark times, the softer side of someone came through.

She smiled at the thought of him, still happy that they were still together after so long. Part of her missed him, wanted to go to him and his family and even her own parents, and beg for forgiveness. The other part of her knew that would have been a betrayal to herself.

Shaking her head, she pushed the thoughts aside, wanting and needing to focus on her trek ahead. If she was lucky, she would find something good today.

 _Later_

She moved agonizingly slow through the woods, her mind drifting in and out of her own thoughts. Each time she took a step, the leaves and branches crunched under the pressure. Normally she would have worried about making too much noise, but after a while she just didn't care. She was going to find out where more people going up against Voldemort and his army were, and nothing was going to stop her. Well, she hoped as much.

With a strong determination set in her mind, she wandered through the woods, too much in a good mood to think about the possibility that there were people following her.

The wind started to pick up then, a cool, biting breeze that chilled her, despite the spell she'd cast to keep her warm. Ali ignored the cold, not having time to think of it just now. Besides, she had always been used to it. As she walked, still slowly, still at her own pace, she started to sing to herself. It was a song she couldn't place a name to, but it kept her mind occupied from the growling of her stomach.

If there was one downside to being on the run, it was the fact that she couldn't go anywhere without risking being seen. Including going to a shop to buy food.

She pressed on a while longer, watching as the sun started to fully rise, the glow of it filtering through the mass of trees around her. It was a beautiful sight, which to her meant that something good had to come out of the day. But of course, she was wrong. A loud _crack_ sounded around her, and a few feet away, something exploded. Ducking down, she raised her arms to cover her face from the dirt and splinters of wood that fell about her body.

Her heart pounded in her chest, faster than anything she'd felt before. Her breath came out ragged and nervous as she searched her surroundings for the source of the spell. In between the trees, she saw dark silhouettes of people who began to approach her with their wands raised and pointed at her. Instinctively, she reached for her own wand and pulled it from her coat. It wasn't a hard choice then, to rise from her spot and take off running.

She wasn't a runner, never had been. Hell, she could barely play Quidditch without finding it difficult. All of this made it difficult for her to breathe as she picked up her pace. She would have thought that after having to run from Snatchers previously, especially away from Scabior who had a thing for running, that she would have been fit enough to sprint. That was not the case apparently. The cold air burned her lungs and her legs too as she pushed herself harder and harder. Behind her, she heard shouts and even laughter as the Snatchers threw more spells at her in an attempt to bring her down.

Each one seemed to somehow miss her, or at least barely grazed her as she ran. She laughed to herself each time they missed, and felt a sort of rush in the act of running from them. Her surroundings became blurs to her; the trees whizzed past her vision, and the leaves hit her face before finding themselves tangled in her long hair. Ducking low branches, she kept a tight grip on her wand, prepared to use it in defense.

The laughter was getting louder, the shouts almost in her ear, and her legs were getting weaker. She couldn't run for much longer, she just couldn't. Aliena's muscles began to burn from the action. Apparating came to mind, a tempting option, but she crossed it off her mental list of ways to escape. She realized that if these Snatchers had been watching her as she came into the woods, they might have placed anti-apparating charms everywhere.

 _Damn_ , she thought to herself. Her one chance of escaping, or one of few chances, was gone now. Mentally cursing, she groaned loudly at the tingling in her legs, feeling now as if she was going to pass out. And she nearly did.

Something heavy wrapped itself around her ankles, knocking her legs out from under her. Whatever it was sent her flying briefly, and tumbling as she hit solid ground. Grumbling, she tried to wiggle around to get herself onto her back, but struggled when pain shot through her left arm. Wincing as she brought it forward, there were small bruises beginning to show on her wrist and a few inches up her arm. Being no expert in such matters, Ali assumed it was broken...or fractured.

Looking around frantically for her wand, she spotted it in the grass in front of her and attempted to reach for it with her good hand. Another sharp pain went through her fingers, this time on her right one and as she glanced to the side, she saw someone's boot crushing her. She didn't need to look up to know that the Snatchers had caught up with her.

"Hello, love. We really do need to stop meeting like this."


End file.
